L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
French
Dating back to the Bourbon Restoration in France and the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, l’Escalier de Cristal (the Crystal Staircase) was founded by Madame Veuve Désarnaud as the first company to offer decorative objects made from crystal and gilded bronze. The firm was located in the Palais Royal in Paris, opposite the Louvre. It grew through a series of owners to become the gold standard for reproductions of 18th-century furniture — so perfect they were often mistaken for originals.
Désarnaud won numerous awards for her creations, including a gold medal at the 1819 Paris Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie Française for a dressing table featuring her signature bronze-crystal combination. A tailor named Boin bought the company around 1830; he in turn sold it to Pierre-Isidore Lahoche in 1840. Lahoche’s son-in-law, Émile Pannier, joined in a partnership in 1952 before Émile’s sons took over in 1885, establishing Pannier Frères. The company ceased commercial production in 1923.
Starting as early as the 1860s, there was a growing appetite for Japanese-style furniture, thanks in large part to the Japanese pavilion at the International Exposition of 1867. Henry Pannier reimagined some of the company’s designs to meet this new demand. The stylized furniture was a huge success and earned the company many awards, including the gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Others who contributed to this stylistic trend included French artist Émile Gallé, French glassmaker and ceramicist François-Eugène Rousseau, French furniture designer Louis Majorelle and French cabinetmaker Gabriel Viardot.
Henry Pannier made a constant effort to sketch each object the company sold and record it in his notebooks. Over 50 years, he recorded 2,800 furniture designs, each with its own name, date of sale and price. On some pieces, l’Escalier de Cristal signed the models, adding a layer of authenticity and distinction for today’s collectors.
Museums around the world have collected pieces from l’Escalier de Cristal, including the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of l’Escalier de Cristal decorative objects, vases, desk accessories and more.
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Creator: L'Escalier de Cristal
Famille Rose Qianlong Period Enamel Inkwell by L'Escalier de Cristal C.1880
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
A Famille Rose Painted Enamel inkwell set Qianlong Period (1736-1795) by l’Escalier de Cristal
It consists of a fretworked tray with raised edges in blackened wood surrounded by a fine gilded bronze ring, on which rests two Famille Rose Qianlong Period (1736-1795) hexagonal inkwells with pierced tops, one with original glass container, decorated with polychrome stylised flower heads and foliate scrollwork.
This inkwell is characteristic of the productions of the Maison de l'Escalier de Cristal, it shows a hybrid realization, using ancient Asian elements, used as a container for feathers and ink.
Stamped «Escalier de Cristal Paris»
Circa 1880
L’Escalier de Cristal, Parisian firm created about 1800 by Mme veuve Desarnaud, famous under the French « Restoration » for its decorative objects combining crystal and bronze. She was awarded a gold medal at the 1819 Paris Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie for an outstanding gilt-bronze mounted crystal dressing table. Located in Paris, at the Palais-Royal, Galerie de Valois, L’Escalier de Cristal was bought out around 1830 by Boin, and then by Lahoche in 1840. The company owed its rise to a position amongst the most im-portant Paris decorative wares shops to Lahoche, who expanded considerably the business and entered later in partnership with his son-in-law to set up in 1852 Lahoche et Pannier...
Category
1870s French Japonisme Antique L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
Materials
Ormolu, Enamel
19th Century French Crystal and Bronze Inkwell
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in Los Angeles, CA
19th century French Crystal and Bronze Mounumental Inkwell. Signed. Escalier de Cristal Paris.
Category
19th Century French Antique L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
Japanese Style Bronze Planter by L'Escalier de Cristal, France, Circa 1890
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed H.P for Henri Pannier.
Lovely hexagonal shaped planter in patinated bronze with gold highlights. Adorned on three sides with a dragon framed by a rhombus frieze on an openwor...
Category
1890s French Japonisme Antique L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
Materials
Bronze
Rare Japanese Style Planter by L'Escalier de Cristal, France, Circa 1880
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
This circular planter in enamel ceramic, by L'Escalier de crystal, is embellished with a floral and vegetal polychrome décor upon a celestial blue ...
Category
1880s French Antique L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
Materials
Bronze
Bronze and Glass Vase, Escalier De Crystal Vase, circa 1890
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in New York, NY
Bronze and glass vase, Escalier De Crystal vase, circa 1890.
Category
1890s French Antique L'Escalier de Cristal Decorative Objects
Materials
Bronze
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L'escalier De Cristal decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
L'Escalier de Cristal decorative objects are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of L'Escalier de Cristal decorative objects, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider decorative objects by Charles Masse, and Theodore Deck. Prices for L'Escalier de Cristal decorative objects can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,885 and can go as high as $27,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $8,571.